Utah company offers eco-friendly bamboo ski poles

PARK CITY, Utah — A Utah based company creates hand-made, more eco-friendly ski poles that stand out among the others.

Bryon Friedman was a professional skier for 10 years, but now he owns Soul Poles—a company that makes ski poles out of bamboo. He said the project came from a desire to reduce waste.

“The idea was born through that, essentially, we ought to bring back the bamboo ski pole, and you know, cut the waste, and what is wasted at least is bio-degradable and natural and the world’s fastest growing renewable resource,” he said.

Friedman said the most difficult part of producing the project was picking a type of bamboo out of the more than 2,000 different kinds available. He even traveled to China in search of the perfect material for his product.

“Obviously the most important piece to our puzzle is the bamboo,” he said. “It has to be really really strong, light-weight, good in cold temperatures, and resistant to temperature change as well.”

The poles are made through a process that includes sizing the bamboo, pulling moisture out of it, rehydrating it for the dry climate, and then shaping it and adding the company’s logo. Friedman said they use recycled grips and plastics for the poles, which is all part of their goal to make a stylish, eco-friendly product.

“We try to incorporate as many recyclable components as possible,” he said. “I mean, that’s who we are. Soul Sports is about making sexy products for soul-full people, but doing it with as many renewable and recyclable materials as possible.”